Playtime
by RainbowExplosions
Summary: Moments between River and the other's on Serenity.


Playtime

The first time River had taken Kaylee's apple, the mechanic just shrugged and chose the next best-looking, despite Jayne's growl that she would get the first pick. The second time River swiped the fruit from Kaylee's hand, the other girl began to grow impatient and reached to snatch back the first. Their game went back and forth for several seconds, River's grin becoming increasingly irritating until Kaylee finally demanded why she wasn't allowed to have her apple.

"You have to catch me first," River taunted, dancing around the table so Kaylee couldn't reach, mocking the other girl by waving the apple in the air. The two girls ran in circles around the table, Kaylee's frustration mounting to point where she snapped, "River, stop playing games! I ain't had a proper bite in weeks an' I want my gorram apple!"

River slowed to a stop, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. The crestfallen look gave Kaylee a pause, especially when the younger girl placed the apple back on the table. River had never given up something so easily.

"You're too old for games?"

The gears clicked into place, and everything made as much sense as Serenity's engine. Hoping it wasn't too late, Kaylee grinned and said, "Nah, I ain't too old. Jus' thinkin' that maybe you were too young to play with us big girls." Lunging for the apple and missing, Kaylee succeeded in making River laugh and knocking over half the contents of the table. Ignoring Wash's call of concern, Kaylee chased River out the room, the two of them giggling as they brushed past Zoe and made their way to the cargo bay. "That's my apple you've got, River Tam!"

"Only yours when you catch me!" the younger girl called over her shoulder.

* * *

He didn't really know how to handle the situation. Being stuck up in the cockpit all day long left Wash a bit behind on the times, and though he had overheard something about finding a cure for River (he didn't know how much he believed that; short of a psychologist, how could medicine cure the mind?), he didn't know if the process was actually in effect. This left him feeling a bit awkward around the Tam's.

When his Brachylophosaurus went missing, Wash had spent a good ten minutes scouring the cockpit before moving to his room, scratching his head and wondering if he had taken it back to his bunk, and if so, why? When it didn't appear, Wash returned to the pilot's chair and told himself it would turn up eventually, though that didn't stop him from playing half-heartedly with his other ones. Brachy was always the peace-maker between the Allosaurus and Stegosaurus. The cockpit just didn't feel right without him.

So when his green head poked above the staircase, Wash was surprised until he saw the head of who was holding it. The-not-so-concealed River made the dinosaur rise and fall, dancing him in the air, while Wash smiled and asked it things like, "How did you get down there?" and "Oh my gosh, how did you learn to fly?" The distraction was nice from the endless stars, and River's laughter was nice, and her responses witty. Eventually she pulled herself all the way onto the bridge, and Wash thought that she was going to give his dinosaur back. When he pointed out its usual spot, River's grin got wider and she grabbed the Stegosaurus, seating herself on the floor and playing with them. Wash watched her for a while before checking the navigation setting. After making sure he wasn't about the crash them into a meteor belt, the pilot and the Allosaurus joined the others on the ground and were only found when Simon and Zoe entered the room, wondering why their respective family didn't show up for dinner.

* * *

Inara didn't mind looking after River while the others went off-ship. Most of their visits were on the Border or Rim planets anyways, and Inara found that the presence of the ship was at its most calm when the others were away. Sometimes Simon would go with them, or sometimes she would find him busy organizing the medbay, patching up one of the crew members, or with bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, and she would offer to watch River so he could focus. Maybe it was her Companion training, or maybe the younger girl simply liked her, but she always went without a complaint.

Inara tried to think of things to do to keep River happy and busy, but it could be difficult. River tended to mark up every book that she read, and card games had quickly gotten monotonous. The Companion supposed she was lucky that River rarely touched anything in her room. Often times the girl simply curled up on the couch or bed and slept, sometimes fitfully, other times not so much. They almost always drank tea together.

This time Simon had fallen asleep standing up in the medbay, so Inara had ushered River into her room after guiding Simon to his, promising she'd keep an eye on his sister. She was just about to pour them one of her own tea recipes when Kaylee knocked on the open door and stepped in, hesitating when she saw the company. Inara simply asked River to fetch another cup, and soon the Companion and mechanic were chatting about fashion and playing with each other's hair.

"River, I bet you'd look real nice if you did something new with your hair," Kaylee said, reaching over to touch it. The younger girl shied away, hands coming up to shield it. "Hey it's alright, we ain't gonna hurt ya. Just thinkin' we could try something different."

"We don't have to do your hair," Inara interjected, smiling to ease away River's worries. "If you don't to, that's alright. Kaylee loves having it brushed though."

River didn't say much, but watched closely as Inara brushed Kaylee's hair, gently working through the knots and taking care not to hit the ears. River's hands slowly came down and Inara smiled again, noting the way River kept a close watch on her hands, and how relaxed Kaylee appeared to be.

"Once you're done with Kaylee's hair…" The two other women glanced over at River, who looked up from studying her hands. "…can you paint my nails like yours?"

* * *

"Gorram it girl, give that back!" River's laughter echoed throughout the ship as loud as Jayne's monstrous footfalls. Wash flattened himself against the wall to make way for the one-man stampede chasing the mouse. Swearing and panting, Jayne kept his eyes on River and left his fists to deal with anything else that got in his way. There was no gorram way that girl was going to outrun him, not on his watch. She was slippery though, and better at rounding corners. Jayne thought to himself if he didn't catch her soon, once he did he'd have to tell everyone she fell and broke her neck. Already half of the crew had seen their chase, and the rest probably heard that unbearable laughter and her insults. The next world probably heard Jayne's responses.

They were by the bunks when Jayne finally caught up with her and roughly grabbed her wrists. They wrestled with Jayne's stolen property for longer than he would have liked, especially when he noticed Kaylee and Mal watching him. His muffled demands and insults grew louder until he wrenched his hat out of her grip with a final, "Give it back!" He roughly tossed her other wrist down and smoothed out the knitted hat, glaring at her. The former look of glee had transformed into sullenness, and Jayne growled, "If I ever catch you with your hands on my stuff again, so help me, I will feed you to the next set of hungry dogs we find. Now git!" River obeyed, stalking through the kitchen rubbing her wrists, while Mal and Kaylee glowered. "What? She can't jus' go around stealing other people's stuff! It ain't right."

It was later in the night that, when everyone retired to their bunks and Jayne lay in his bed after polishing his knives, something occurred to him. It took him a while to wrestle with his memory, as he hadn't been paying attention at the time, but when he worked it out Jayne groaned and muttered, "You gotta be kidding me." River had a weird way of having fun.

Still, the next morning when he woke up early to do his usual set of lifts, Jayne noticed a certain pair of bare feet on the catwalk above him, and hung his mother's knitted hat in a different spot behind him, one he was sure was within vertical reach.

* * *

River followed his gaze and found herself looking at a stand breathing mist. The noise of the room was getting to her, so she couldn't focus on what she was seeing, but judging by the people around the stand, it was a type of food, or some kind of game.

"Ah yes, I haven't seen one of those for years. Ice Planets," the Shepherd explained, seeing River's inquisitive look. "I used to have one every week in the downtown park with my brother and mother. It has been far too long," he murmured.

"They look…difficult," was all River could say, not sure how to reply to Book's comments.

"Difficult? They are heavenly. Come, I'll get you one." River followed him, still frowning and trying to discern what exactly an Ice Planet was. She was quiet as Book bought two, making friendly conversation with the owner of the stand, until he handed her one and said, "Go along dear, eat up."

She tried. She saw how easily the Shepherd maneuvered his into his mouth, taking out a solid bite without ever touching the actual food. River bopped herself in the nose. After two more unsuccessful tries, she attempted to grab the Ice Planet, but Book wouldn't allow her, lecturing her on the art and joy of the Ice Planet. River didn't agree, but he did pay for it, and she still harbored a twinge of guilt for fixing his Bible. So she continued to try, though some complaints escaped.

"My food is problematic!" she called after him, but Book merely laughed. He had thought that introducing River to something of his childhood would give her the gift of innocence and delight, if only for a while, and perhaps it would help heal his own scarred soul.

He hadn't expected it to be this funny.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm sorry I couldn't think of one for Zoe and Mal, though if I do I'll likely update this._

_Edit: Thank you big time to the anon who pointed out my mistake in tagging this story as R. Tam instead of River. I greatly appreciate the correction, and wish that anon's didn't consistantently leave some of the best reviews, because I'd really like to be able to contact ya'll and say thanks ( no offense to the non-anon reviews. You guys are also spectacular and warm my heart. But sometimes I feel like people have an easier time being more elaborate when I don't know who they are)._


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